PLAYA HAIR COLOR!! So I have had quite a few people emailing me asking me about hair color as I tend to wear bright colors in my hair and do hair for a living. People want to go buck wild about with their hair during BM. So figured I would help people out who want to do bright colors in their hair.

First pre lighten your hair. Use the fake blondor (they sell at that place where you can get hair supplies) with a 30 Volume developer. 40 will fry your hair. This should only be used if you have box color on your hair. NEVER mix this in a metal bowl or anything with metal.

Apply with a brush. Should be the consistency of thiner pudding. It WILL thicken up as you go so add more developer. For whole head application-Take inch wide sections. Section your hair in 4. start at the front 2 sections and start at the top. Use the 1 inch sections and apply lightener. Do this then on the back after the front is done. WORK FAST on the front two as it will be lightening while you are doing the back. You dont want 2 diff tones of hair.

For just a few pieces still do one inch section but sepperate with foil so it does not get on the hair you dont want lightened

NEVER put heat on lightener. You will lose your hair. Lightener is self heating.

If you have colored hair start with what is colored then come back in and do the "roots" last. The heat from you head will exselorate the bleach and you will look like this if you do not. We call it hot roots. With non colored hair a little bit of this is normal but not this bad.

Depending on what color you want to go will depend on how long you leave the bleach on or do it again. If you are coloring it Red,Orange or Purple. You want your hair to be kinda brassy looking. yellow, green, blue or teal you want your hair to be a pale yellow color. So lighten your hair. Then this is the most common question what hair color to use. I have used every color line under the sun! All will leave it colored from 5 days pale to 2 weeks top but one. The best stuff I have found hands down that last for months (not kidding) with little fading is ************. You get it at the same place. You just use it right out of the tube. Makes sure to wear gloves and cover your hair line in pertrolim jelly other wise you will look really strange haha.

Note: you can mix the colors to get any color you want!

Leave it on for and hour and then wash it out with COOL or cold water. NO SOAP FOR 2 DAYS! Hot will open your cuticle on your hair and let the color out. Make sure to use a heavy conditioner. Even better put mayo that has egg product in it, or if you can afford it Avocado. Sleep with this on your head with a shower cap. This will help restore the protein in your hair that you lost with lightening it. Try not to use heat on your hair for a few days. It will last until your roots start to show. Even then it will be super bright! LOVE LOVE LOVE it! If you have any hair questions feel free to email me. Would love to help you out! Have fun with your hair color!

* I dont think I am aloud to put the brand I used to if you would like it please email me. Or you can take it into the store and they will know what it is.

The color swatches are some what true. But it is closer the color of the box to be honest.

This is the AQUA

maladroit- Burning Man is like a second job, except you pay to work there.Burning Man is just the pre party for exodus! - fellow burner during exodus

There shouldn't be a problem with recommending a brand of anything as long as you're not selling it or specifically advertising for it. We mention brands/stores/websites all the time in the spirit of helping out.

VultureChow wrote:I think you're ok as long as you don't post a link to their site or suggest you get commissions.

There is a bit of a grey area, and TG was right not to post the links in her initial post (though naming a couple of Brands would be fine). Generally links should be in response to a question, not the initial post (ie: OP: "What kind of dye do you recommend" as opposed to OP: "I recommend these dyes"). Think of it as a conversation on the playa: do you walk into a camp shouting "Try this!" or do you wait until someone asks a question before you recommend something?

TG: great informative post, and since people have asked you're free to post links to brands you think are good.

It's a camping trip in the desert, not the redemption of the fallen world - Cryptofishist

That was me. I know on the wall they don't care as much here though it is quite mod-Ed. But yes the brand is ION. I'm on my phone at the post office waiting for the lady with my tick so when I get to work I will post more about hair colors and care.

maladroit- Burning Man is like a second job, except you pay to work there.Burning Man is just the pre party for exodus! - fellow burner during exodus

I have a short white mohawk and we use permanent markers on it to put any color I want into it, rainbow colors, streaks, or a pattern even. My daughter uses them on her hair too and it washes out in a few washes. It is labor intensive for your whole head but it works great for colored streaks or specific patterns on your hair. It starts out very vivid and fades with your first wash quite a bit. On my daughters hair that had been bleached previously it stayed in certain sections longer than others but it was totally gone within a week. Not as cool or all encompassing as the full head dye but again works really well for small sections and you know what the color will be because you see the effect immediately.

Please please please do not use perm marker in your hair. It leaves chemicals in your hair that are not good for your hair or for you and make it nightmare for professionals to do their job if you ever sit in our chair, even for a cut.I have had many people in my chair who have done this, cool aid, ect ect. It is a nightmare and a Half to get this out and does more damage then good.

maladroit- Burning Man is like a second job, except you pay to work there.Burning Man is just the pre party for exodus! - fellow burner during exodus

Rusk Scream- PRO: Easy to apply. Not thick and not watery. CON:Will fade to pastels in under 2 weeks, Spendy about $15, Only available to professionals, Limited colors.Rusk SCREAM-After a bit of faderight after color-

Manic Panic- PRO: Can be purchased by anyone, Not to thick so some what easy to apply, Wide selection of colors, Price point is ok. CON: Will stain the living bejesus out of your tub and clothes if you sweat, 2-3 weeks before it goes pastel.

Beyond The Zone Color Jamz- PRO: None! CONS: Horrible to try to get out of the bottle, What you pay for is to much for how bad of a product it is, HORRIBLE color pay out. First rinse and it is pastel. Last maybe a week and a half before the color is gone,does not apply well, kinda like jelly.

SPLAT- PRO: Halcyon is on the front of the pink Box. Semi long lasting and ok price point. I have used the red and purple. They work quite well and lasted about 3 weeks before needing to reapply. CON: needs to last a bit longerSPALT-

RAW COLOR (hot topic) PRO: true and good color pay off. CONS: Way to high of a price point! Last only for about 2-3 tops weeks before it turns to very light pastel, hard to get out of bottle because it is VERY thick. (that's what she said; hiz ah!)

Paul Mitchell INK- PRO: Great color pay out ( I have only used the red when my whole head was red for quite a while) Long lasting before needing to color again 3 weeks or more. CON: Only available at Paul Mitchel Professional warehouse, $15 a bottle.Paul Mitchell

ION Color Brilliance Brights- PRO: Cheap (Under $3 per tube) GREAT color pay out, long lasting 2 months so far and very little fading, No developer needed, everyone can buy it, Easy squeeze tube to make sure to get all of it out,does not smell, easy to mix with other colors, does not stain your tub or towel. CONS: Is somewhat thick so applying it is kinda a pain but if you work it will get all over, but will not drip off your hair. Thats about it.This photo was taken a month prior to the other one. As you can see not a lot of fading. and I colored it a month prior to this photoCool aide or marker- NEVER!!! HORRIBLE FOR YOUR HAIR AND YOU!!

These are all the colors I have used in my hair. Some are junk some are ok and some are Great!

Last edited by tattoogoddess on Mon Jul 16, 2012 10:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

maladroit- Burning Man is like a second job, except you pay to work there.Burning Man is just the pre party for exodus! - fellow burner during exodus

I have pretty much done everything under the sun with my hair from color to dreads to being bald. Serously If you need and help or want something done on the playa let me know. Would love to gift my gift to the playa!

maladroit- Burning Man is like a second job, except you pay to work there.Burning Man is just the pre party for exodus! - fellow burner during exodus

Thanks for posting this, TTG. That's some really great info. I'm keeping it as a resource for future use, just in case.

I haven't done a bright haircolour in years (and I've rarely done them at all). I'm always tempted, though. My biggest reasons for not doing it, generally, are that I hate what the lightening does to my (naturally fine/fragile) hair, and that I have a couple of grey streaks I'm quite fond of/vain about, which I don't want permanently cover up. My biggest reason for not doing it for the playa is because I have to cross the border. Last time I went to BM, all those years ago, my hair was green. I'm pretty sure that's a big part of why I got singled out for the "sharp interrogation". *shudder*

My first bright-hair experience was with Manic Panic. It was exactly as you describe above -- easy to do, brilliant colour, stained everything, faded quickly.

Other than that, I did bright red for a few years. I mostly used Ice Cream, which is supposed to be a permanent colour (the kind you mix with a developing cream that lightens your hair) . I was always dismayed at how quickly it faded to orange, given the price of the stuff. I know red is a terrible colour to keep, and my hair seems particularly prone to fading, but it was very frustrating. Given that the stuff had already lightened the base colour for me to a brassy blonde, I should have just done touch-ups with a semi-permanent, but I kept redoing the permanent and frying my hair more and more...

Anyways, I love your how-to and product reviews here. They're very thorough, and I'm getting tempted all over again.

Question: Are there any funky deposit-only colours that you would recommend for dark hair? I realize I wouldn't get a bright effect, but could I get just a hint of colour when the sun hits it, maybe? It would be extra-cool if my grey/white hairs became bright highlights, as long as it would wash out of them eventually. Is this possible, or am I just wishful-thinking?

If you want drama to stop following you everywhere, try letting go of the leash.

Yep anything that does not use a developer is just depositing. Thus I cringe when people say " im going to dye my hair" unless you are going pink or some other buck wild color you are not dying you hair. You are coloring your hair. You dye an easter eg you color your hair.All you are doing is depositing a pigment. No chemical reactions are taking place.

For doing it on dark hair. Depending on what level you are (how light or dark you hair is. 1 being black 11 being white blonde) will deppend on how much you will see. if you are say brown/level 4. You will tint you hair. So you will see it in the sun.

maladroit- Burning Man is like a second job, except you pay to work there.Burning Man is just the pre party for exodus! - fellow burner during exodus

Savannah wrote:I really loved "Special Effects" brand haircolor when I was a redhead.

I concur. Their reds and pinks are awesome. I use "cupcake pink" diluted with conditioner over my lightened (from dark blonde) hair. It will fade a little over time, but it lasts forever. I used to only use manic panic, as its easily found here, but their pinks just don't hold up. Last year I colored my hair with MP's cotton candy pink two days before we left. I took one shower before we hit the road, and by the time we reached the desert, no pink was left. Special Effects, on the other hand, is almost impossible to get rid of. I'm pretty much committed to pink or red now, I'd have to do some intensive "un-coloring" to get back to blonde.

I'll be interested in a post burn hair color report. The extreme dry conditions and the alkali playa dust can do odd things, and can catch even the most experienced person with a need to revise what they know ... skin shows a huge change from humid regions compared to the playa, I'd have to assume hair can be affected in a similar fashion. New data is always intriguing.

Great post TG! All your colors and pictures are fun. I sort of like the pastel shades.

tattoogoddess wrote:For doing it on dark hair. Depending on what level you are (how light or dark you hair is. 1 being black 11 being white blonde) will deppend on how much you will see. if you are say brown/level 4. You will tint you hair. So you will see it in the sun.

I am level number 1, with occasional grey (yes, already!). If I am lucky, some dark colors will glimmer in sunlight.I haven't colored my hair for years now. Since I am slowly turning grey, I want to enjoy my jet black hair as long as I can.

I've been coloring my hair for years; all different shades of red, magenta mixed with everything from blondes to currently black streaks with a blue tinge. My colorist uses semi-permanent color over what I believe is still medium to dark blonde hair (now with a bit of grey too). I've never been happy with the fading, but I got my playa name because the red would fade to pink. He's going to use lightener this time because I want as violently pink hair as I can get. I'm not sure what bRand he's been using, but I'm going to suggest ION due to your recommendation. The fade may just be the result of not lightening before adding the color though.

Even though my hair dries to a crackly crunch of dreads on playa, I condition the hell out of it when I return (many times before the first shampoo), and it goes back to it's normal fine, thin texture. I like my playa hairstyles-nothing but playa has ever made me able to get any lift at all- well except for an entire can of aqua-net super hold back in the 80's. Come to think of it, playa is easier to wash out than the aqua-net was!

On my first color shopping trip they were out of the color I wanted so I got some in a more expensive brand (Beyond the Zone - Raspberry). Well that stuff barely managed to turn my hair a really anemic Mauve - 3 people the next day actually asked me what color it was supposed to be!

I went back and bought the Ion stuff and now my hair is the bright Fuscia I intended.

Savannah: I don't know what it is, but no thread here escapes alive. You'll get 1 or 2 real answers at minimum, occasionally 10 or 12, and then we flog it until it's unrecognizable and you can't get your deposit back.